The present invention relates to a dome theater in which an image projected on a dome shaped screen or produced by a display apparatus(s) arranged in a domed configuration is shown.
Conventional domed image producing systems offer a wide-angle image and have mainly been applied to all-sky optical projectors such as planetariums. Recently, they are used as large scale motion picture projectors and may be constructed exclusively or along with planetarium systems, forming dome theaters.
Such a dome theater has been developed based on a planetarium system, thus having-some disadvantages in term of visibility.
When the dome theater is tilted at an optimum angle of 35.degree., an audience or spectators exert efforts to turn and keep their faces upward.
For easing the efforts, reclining chairs may be employed. However, the reclining chairs are relatively large in size thus decreasing the number of the spectators for a given floor space.
If the dome shaped screen is tilted to a higher angle, the seating floor has to be tipped proportionally. It is known that the floor slope for installation of seats should be at a maximum of 35.degree. to conform to applicable laws. The tilt of the dome shaped screen is required not to exceed the maximum angle.
The higher the tilting angle of the seating floor, the easier the spectators can watch the dome shaped screen. However, the highly tilted floor allows the spectators to reach their seats only with much difficulty and is thus be disadvantageous in safety, and particularly, unfavorable in the case of emergency evacuation. Some spectators may actually feel fear when standing and looking down on the floor slope of 35.degree.. Most of the conventional dome theaters hence have a floor slope of not more than 30.degree..
There is a multi-floor seating structure composed of arrays of spectator compartments. Generally, most of such multi-floor structures are prepared as complementary facilities with minor equipment and often have three or less floors.
As understood, a majority of the conventional dome theaters are tipped at a very small angle near horizontal and are rarely accompanied with such a multi-floor seating structure.
Traditional theaters or cinemas, including dome shaped screen facilities, are designed to allow a large number of spectators to stay together in a limited space thus substantially prohibiting chattering, drinking, eating, or leaving during the display or projection of images.
Also, as the distance from the dome shaped screen is varied, depending on the location of a seat in a viewing area, the spectators in the front seats may find it difficult to view the full screen.
In general, the dome shaped screen is large and used to display a motion picture.
The motion picture films are however inadequate for editing or modifying as they are not interactive.
For eliminating the foregoing drawback, the use of large sized video projectors has been developed. Even if the quality and brightness of images produced by such projectors are accepted, the installation of the large sized projectors creates another problem. In fact, no obstruction is allowed between the dome shaped screen and the projector. It would be understood that traditional theaters are strictly classified into an image producing facility such as a cinema and an auditorium such as an opera house or a music hall. The conventional dome theaters which provide high quality images pay less attention to plays and musics.
Although advanced visual effecting systems, including laser devices, have been employed for producing top-notch lighting effects in the opera houses and music halls, they are hardly comparable to today's state-of-art image producing systems. In other words, facilities which simultaneously provide a quality screen image, a stage play, and a rich sound have unsuccessfully been introduced and new art styles exploiting the three different manners are not known.
As apparent, the traditional theaters allow their stages to be divided by old fashioned curtains and decorated with classic scenery settings for simulating dramatic backS grounds.
Such traditional scenery settings and curtains are limited in producing visual effects. Only some of the audience, mainly those seated in the front end, can enjoy those effects.
Also, fabrication of the scenery settings and curtains involves consumption of much labor and time. In addition, the scenery settings and curtains have to be replaced with different ones after an act of play is ended or transported from one theater to another, increasing the cost of labor.